Cherry Tree Advice

[Ayatollah]

We grew this tree from a sapling 20 years ago, and it has not produced fruit this year, and very little the last two or three. Now we see death and destruction. I found what I believe are shothole borers. Many dead limbs and branches. the tree is still trying to fight back, but it seems the damage is pretty bad. Only one of the main trunks seem ok, but the tops of the limbs are dead here and there. What really concerns me is the deep cracking that extends up to a couple feet, and some bigger, deeper holes that don't seem to have been caused by shothole borers. I've been pruning away, but it might be a lost cause?

 

[BC WetCoast]

Looks like you may have some tortrix borers, which is what killed the branches and then maybe a woodpecker digging the larger holes.

Cut out the large dead stems back to a junction with a live stem. I would suggest you try wrapping the stem with saran wrap and spreading Tanglefoot over the saranwrap. This will trap the adult females as they crawl up the tree from the soil where they overwinter.

 

[jomoco]

Sevin powder (carbaryl) can kick butt on borers in my experience in SoCal.

I've eradicated both Ips and Western flathead borer infestations by impregnating burlap strips with a Sevin powder pancake dough and wrapping the main scaffolding of the infected tree with it like a mummy.

Expensive and time consuming as hell, but it kills them coming and going in my experience to date. Nicotine works too!

jomoco

 

[Ayatollah]

The tree is pretty dry. The cuts I've made thus far have been producing sawdust.; no moisture content. Some branches are saturated with holes that have secreted that amber tar. The trunk itself don't look bad. Not much there at all; but where it splits up and about half from there on is pretty buggy. Some are all the way at the top, and others about about the middle. The back half of the tree is pretty much gone. About 1/3 of the front is still needing trimmed, including some of the dead at the top.

 

[CRThomas]

We grew this tree from a sapling 20 years ago, and it has not produced fruit this year, and very little the last two or three. Now we see death and destruction. I found what I believe are shothole borers. Many dead limbs and branches. the tree is still trying to fight back, but it seems the damage is pretty bad. Only one of the main trunks seem ok, but the tops of the limbs are dead here and there. What really concerns me is the deep cracking that extends up to a couple feet, and some bigger, deeper holes that don't seem to have been caused by shothole borers. I've been pruning away, but it might be a lost cause?

The tree is pretty dry. The cuts I've made thus far have been producing sawdust.; no moisture content. Some branches are saturated with holes that have secreted that amber tar. The trunk itself don't look bad. Not much there at all; but where it splits up and about half from there on is pretty buggy. Some are all the way at the top, and others about about the middle. The back half of the tree is pretty much gone. About 1/3 of the front is still needing trimmed, including some of the dead at the top.

That cherry is one of the best cooking wood in my area it's high dollar cut them down chunk them bag and sell.

 

[CRThomas]

We grew this tree from a sapling 20 years ago, and it has not produced fruit this year, and very little the last two or three. Now we see death and destruction. I found what I believe are shothole borers. Many dead limbs and branches. the tree is still trying to fight back, but it seems the damage is pretty bad. Only one of the main trunks seem ok, but the tops of the limbs are dead here and there. What really concerns me is the deep cracking that extends up to a couple feet, and some bigger, deeper holes that don't seem to have been caused by shothole borers. I've been pruning away, but it might be a lost cause?

Cut iy and sell it for cooking wood or throw one stick in your fire place with your hard wood or put it in your grill beautiful tasting meat.